Windy Ridge offers English fantasy with a slice of B&B on the side

Sometimes, stereotypes are a good thing. Sometimes, that's exactly what you want from tourism. You're not looking for an accurate social reflection, an ironic twist on local culture or a rebellious stand against the norm. You're on holiday. You want a storybook version of a place, not reality.

For English tourism ... at least to the American mind ... this version is probably best captured in sleepy Cotswold villages, where golden stone parish churches stand sentinel over the patchwork of farm fields, cottage gardens tumble beneath thatched eaves, Miss Marple is waiting just around a corner to catch the local aristocratic murderer and somewhere in a disused long gallery there's a wardrobe that can take you to Narnia. And once you've made it to the Cotswolds, I'd suggest a fine B&B to indulge in the myth: Windy Ridge.

The impression starts from the main road. Take the small lane across from the pub with the bright red George VI postbox in front of the stone estate wall. Turn through the lane and crunch up the gravel, with those wacky stone mushrooms and tall hedges lining the way. There's a glimpse of a corridor between the yew, an old well at its centre now cascading with flowers. You see a thatched roof amongst the cluster of outbuildings before coming on the house itself. Properly substantial hounds (an Italian spinone and a boxer) lope across some lawns, while the house chickens peck across others. An uneven roofline of differing gables, formal gardens behind a wrought iron gate, leaded windows allowing peeps into gracious rooms, and the substantial house itself all built in that warm, golden stone that exudes history.

Ironically, the antiquity is no more "real" than thousands of mock Tudor mansions in American suburbia. Windy Ridge, including its gardens and outbuildings, was built in open fields by the current owner's father in the 1950s. Cotswold stone mellows quickly, however, and English gardens mature fast in this part of the country, making it hard to differentiate Windy Ridge from neighbouring houses with hundreds more years on their foundations.

The relatively new house brings some real advantages for B&B guests, however. While enjoying the illusion of history, you're not ducking under dangerously low beams, avoiding creaking stairs or tripping over uneven spots in the floor. Windy Ridge has comfortable, gracious proportions and was clearly built for entertaining. There are just four bedrooms, yet guests have the run of a substantial part of the house. This includes their own kitchen off the main hall (essential for organising your picnic at the neighbouring Longborough Opera Festival); a classic country house sitting room with overstuffed couches, fireplace, views of a gorgeous garden and an honour bar, the proceeds of which go to charity; and a breakfast/garden room with an indoor fountain, French doors to the same garden and an eccentric collection of Oriental art and decorative items.

Breakfast in that room is taken at a long table with your other guests and is both tasty and remarkably generous. In recent years the "Full English" at many B&Bs has become increasingly posh, majoring on provenance of fancy ingredients while shrinking what arrives on the plate. I wouldn't recommend too many breakfasts at Windy Ridge because of the threat of extreme weight gain. But for a weekend treat the generous bowls of fresh berries, the plates groaning beneath their piles of eggs, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, beans and tomatoes and the basket of fresh-baked croissants ... all washed down with a pot of coffee large enough that you actually can drink your fill without begging for more ... hit the spot.

The guest quarters carry on the balance of old and new with traditional fabrics, furniture and artwork, with rooms sized for the 20th century and big windows overlooking those gorgeous gardens. The flat screen TV is the only hint at the modern world. The beds are comfortable and the nights dark and quiet. One bit of old fashioned architecture, however: There's a giant tub, but only a hand held shower rather than a proper wall mounted unit. If, like me, you like to lounge in hot water with a good book you'll be in heaven. If, like my boyfriend, you like your showers, you might be a bit disgruntled with your morning routine. Forewarned is forearmed.

The icing on this pastoral cake, however, is proprietor Nick Williams and his wife Jenny. You'll feel much more of a friend and house guest than a paying customer. They're both interested in their guests and interesting to talk to (ask about Jenny's job, and Homer the dog's extravagant burial), and don't hesitate to go the extra bit to satisfy your needs. To ensure our perfect day, Nick drove us over to the Longborough Opera grounds early to show us the way and suggest picnic spots, then gave us a tour of the arboretum planted by his father before lending us the golf cart for the rest of the day so we wouldn't have to carry all our picnic gear.

There are plenty of B&Bs I enjoy, but there are very few I leave scheming how I could get enough friends together to book the whole place for a weekend. This is one of them. Stay tuned to see how quickly I return.